Why Leadership Coaching Benefits everyone, not just leaders
Award-winning CEO Coach, and the creator of e-coaching software, Vic Your Coach, Peter Ryding, explains why leadership coaching can deliver benefits for every member of the workforce.
There is little doubt that coaching benefits leaders and their businesses. The Institute of Coaching cites that over 70% of individuals who receive coaching benefited from improved work performance, relationships and more effective communication skills – and 86% of companies feel that they recouped the investment they made into coaching plus more on top. However, what would happen if businesses took the same steps to coach EVERY member of staff?
Traditionally, that hasn’t been an option for most organisations. While training programmes can easily be rolled out to all members of staff, coaching requires an intensive one on one approach because the goals are individual. Training merely seeks to increase knowledge, which is of course effective, but coaching actively develops the prized soft skills that are harder to train and guides the beneficiary how to put their skills into practice in a more effective way, with clarity of thinking, management behaviours and improved consciousness.
More conscious behaviour drives teams to work more harmoniously, encourages sales people to close more deals and of course, will help everyone within the business to better understand the needs of the customer – there is a huge potential for delivering improvements across the board, but of course, the approach means engaging in extensive one on one advice – and hiring a skilled CEO coach doesn’t come cheap.
With top coaches charging an average of $500 per hour, deploying their skills for every member of staff would not be cost effective for most companies – so could the advances of modern technology fill the gap?
Peter Ryding, who has worked with some of the UK’s leading companies both as an award-winning coach and turnaround CEO, believes that modern technology like AI and apps are set to make the coaching method more accessible to everyone. He says:
“I have worked with two main groups of people in my coaching career, helping both CEOs and HR Directors, and having seen the success from this method, both groups have expressed a desire to share the benefits of coaching with their teams – along with the sadness that their organisation could only afford it for senior leaders.”
“Individuals like me are a finite resource, so I decided to make it my life’s goal to create an affordable e-coaching system that could be accessed by entire organisations, not just leaders. I began investigating the possibilities of using AI and app technology to create a ‘coach in your pocket’ – dispensing individually tailored coaching advice in the same way I do with CEOs and HR Directors. My goal was to create a single system that worked for a wide range of skill sets and would adapt to the needs of the individual – and after many years of development, I believe our team has succeeded.
“Vic Your Coach uses a combination of e-coaching tools and methods based on the skills of an award-winning coach, and a powerful AI system allows the app to adapt to the needs of the user. It also incorporates an effective assessment system, helping leaders understand their teams motivations, skills and behaviours to create an effective management tool for getting the best from your team.”
HomeServe plc have adopted the system, and so far, reports have been glowing across the board. Global Talent & Development Director, Chris Fenton, says:
“Our Global CEO Richard Harpin is a fan with his own section called CEO Spotlight. I love using VIC and every time I go in, not only do I quickly find what I want, I always end up discovering more fascinating things that I can apply at work and life outside.”
Global Talent and Engagement Director Kate Keyworth adds:
“Thanks to its uniquely integrated E-Learning and E-Coaching approach, VIC was a natural partner to provide HomeServe with a unified solution to our core challenges of constant up-skilling, increasing productivity, and a cultural roll out.”
Users at all levels report improvements, as well as their delight in using the system – so will Peter be hanging up his coaching hat and sending Vic instead?
Peter Ryding concludes:
“There will always be a place for one on one coaching to develop senior leaders, and at the moment I’m working with HR and CEO groups as well as offering individual coaching, to develop them into the best leaders they can be. However, one of my core teachings is to guide leaders towards creating a succession plan – and finding skilled people is always the hardest challenge. By cultivating soft skills in everyone, companies like Homeserve will create a generation of future leaders to pick from, with a multi-skilled, effective talent pool across their organisation.
“Leadership, teamwork and harmony are the foundation of any successful organisation – I’m just delighted to be able to help more leaders create this for their teams.”
HR Leaders & L&D Professionals can currently undertake a trial of the VIC Your Coach system free of charge – to learn more click here
